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One Size Does Not Fit All: Improving Workforce Participation for People with Disabilities

A new brief by the American Institutes for Research sheds light on a persistent problem: One-third of people with disabilities haven’t sought work or stopped trying to find it. As The Wall Street Journal recently reported, findings suggest federal and state efforts currently treat people with disabilities as a homogeneous group, despite wide variance among people with different types of disabilities. This briefing explored why labor participation data has declined or remained flat amidst federal efforts to increase employment and employability. Speakers also discussed which federal and state efforts are working best to encourage people with disabilities to join the workforce, and ways legislation can better account for the vast differences among this group.

Follow @AIR_Info using the hashtag #DisabilityLabor to follow the continuing conversation.

Presentation

One Size Does Not Fit All: A New Look at the Labor Force Participation of People with DisabilitiesDahlia Shaewitz, Principal Research Analyst, AIR

Moderator

Michael Gamel-McCormick, Associate Executive Director for Research and Policy, Association of University Centers on Disabilities